HEALTH CARE NEEDS an INTERNET REVOLUTION
[Excerpt from the article by Bill Gates, Chairman Microsoft Corporation,Published in The Wall Street Journal, Friday, October 5, 2007.]
By Dr Nitin Mehta. MSc, PhD, FICN, Dip. Lib Sc.,& Hosp Admn
We live in an era that has seen our knowledge of medical science and treatment expands at a speed that is without precedent in human history. Today we can cure illnesses that used to be untreatable and prevent diseases that once seemed inevitable. We expect to live longer and remain active and productive as we get older.
On going progress in genetics and our under understanding of human genome puts us on the cusp of even more dramatic advances in the years ahead. But for all the progress we’ve made our system for delivering medical care is clearly in crisis .Beyond
The high cost in human life , we pay a steep financial price for their inability of our health care system to deliver consistent, high quality care .Billions of dollars are spent each year on redundant tests, and prolonged illnesses injuries that result from medical errors, limiting our ability to provide health care to everyone who needs in and threatening the competitiveness of U.S. businesses, which now spend an average of $ 8,000 annually on health care for employees. Fragmented nature of the way health information is created and collected .Every clinic, hospital department , and doctor’s office has its own systems for storing it, today, most of those systems .Isolated, disconnected systems make it impossible to assemble a complete picture of your health and make fully informed treatment decisions , potentially life saving medical information is significantly underutilized as both providers and researchers can’t share them easily. There should be swifter adoption of information technology and greater reliance on evidence based medicine. In his 2006, State of Union address, President Bush called on the medical system to “make wider use of electronic records and other health information technology”. Increased digitalization of health care information alone will not solve the problems we face, nearly all procedures are recorded in digital form and transmitted to health insurers, but patients never see this data and share with doctors. Instead, individuals gather information about their medical history, medications and the tests they’ve undergone.
People to be placed at very center of the health care system and put them in full control of their health information .Developing the solutions to help make this possible is an important priority for Microsoft, envisions a comprehensive , internet –based system that enables the patient get data automatically in a form they can understand and use. Their privacy is protected as they have control over whom they share this information .Fully informed diagnoses and treatment decisions are taken.
An Internet-based health-care network like this will have dramatic impact.
It will undoubtedly improve the quality of medical care and lower costs by encouraging the use of evidence- based medicine, reducing medical errors and eliminating redundant medical tests. Today, medical professionals treat condition after they occur
-- on curing illness and managing disease. With all this, it is possible to keep pushing for the one thing that we all really care about: a medical system that focuses on our lifelong health & prioritizes prevention as much as it does treatment. The information will make intelligent choices that will allow us to lead healthy lives & to search providers who help us stay well & get better.
The technology exists today to make this system a reality .No one company can or should hope to provide the single solution to make all of this possible. That’s why Microsoft is working with wide range of software &hardware companies, physicians, hospitals, govt. organizations, patient advocacy groups &consumers together that we can address critical issues like privacy, security & integration with existing applications.
The technology is not a cure –all for the issues that plague the health-care system. But it can be a powerful catalyst for a change, here in U. S. and elsewhere around the globe where access to medical professionals is limited & where better availability of health-care information could help improve the lives of millions of people.
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